Kent Bui DESMA 9

Space and art seem unrelated at first, but there have been numerous examples of space and art. Such as space designs on notebooks, baby rockers with planets, or even popular sayings, such as " Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.". Space has been utilized in art, and it has been so normalized that many people do not realize it without reflection. Image from  potterybarnkids This week's guest speaker was Richelle Gribble, a Space Artist. I never knew that Space Artists existed, let alone what they did in their career. As an ecology major, I am interested in the various ecosystems across the world. As a Space Artist, Richelle Gribble is able to visit ecosystems found across the world. She then uses these experiences to create art. The art that she creates is on a larger scale than typical art. She creates art that represents the interactions between organisms in the environment. Typically art is limited to certain scenes or events. The utilization of space and...

    Art has many forms and mediums. Similar to in week 6 where biotechnology allowed art to expand into new mediums, nanotechnology allows for a new medium as well. Art should not be limited to certain mediums, and through the use of nanotechnology, art is allowed to exist in a miniaturized form that would otherwise have been impossible.    Image from  openaccessgovernment     A use of nanotechnology in art that I found interesting was IBM's A Boy And His Atom . I've seen the film in a previous class but never thought much about it. The film is known as the world's smallest film because it was made using individual atoms. It utilized nanotechnology in order to create a movie, a form of art. The film was made by using carbon dioxide atoms and moving them in order to create individual frames. These frames were then used to create a stop motion. Before watching this film, I never knew atoms could be used in art and would have never had the creative or art...

My previous experience with neuroscience and psychology was a semester longe psychology course that I took in high school. While I don't remember specifics from the course, I do remember enjoying the class, and the topics that were introduced. This background knowledge helped me understand the topics this week on neuroscience and art. Art and the brain are intertwined. Artwork is able to capture the emotions of feelings of an artist, and in turn, allows us to also feel what the artist is feeling. Image from  artranked What stood out to me the most was Christopher deCharm's TED talk. He explains that the brain can be mapped in real-time through the use of an MRI. This meant that it was possible for people to see where in the brain the signals from their actions were sent to. With this people were able to control their pathways, and subsequently train their brains. Using this method, there was a 44% to 64% reduction in chronic pain patients. I knew that MRIs were able to show sig...

I attended the watch party on May 7th. I found the movie interesting because it explores what life could be like if society obsessed over ideal genetics. The movie Gattaca is about ideal genetics, and how technology can be used to tweak genes. This ties back into what we are learning in class because of the use of biotechnologies to alter genes. Such as the case of Alba, where fluorescent jellyfish genome was injected into a rabbit, or Joe Davis injecting a mouse with the map of the Milky Way. Gattaca takes this a step further and creates a hierarchical society based on genetics. In the movie Gattaca, the main character Vincent is conceived without any genetic modifications. He is denied opportunities because he is seen as genetically unfit. Vincent ends up meeting Jerome, who has perfect genetics, and Vincent ends up taking Jerome's identity in order to enter the astronaut program. Image from  harrisonpl What stuck out to me is how people were denied an opportunity to even try out...

     Previously I believed that biotechnology was always the answer, and it would be good to use it in the future. I did not think of the implications of biotechnology until professor Vesna brought them up. What stuck out to me the most was what Joe Davis did in the Week 6 View part 1. I did not realize how far people would take biotechnology, for example, he injected a mouse with the map of the Milky Way. I just thought people would use it in more practical senses, such as GMO plants to increase yield. I believed that technology would go hand and hand with life, and changes that could be made should be made. Now I realize that there are pros and cons to using life as an expressive medium. https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Transgenic      Life should be seen as a valid medium for art. Life can be used as a medium, which leads to ethical issues. However, it is difficult to determine what crosses the line and is unethical. People have been practicing a...